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The Alaska
Legislature has been in session a couple of weeks now, and according to Senate
President Gary Stevens of Kodiak, legislators and staff are already scrambling
to get their work done. Never a fan of the 90-day session mandated by a voter
initiative, Stevens says it short-changes constituents who would like to be
heard on issues important to them.

Stevens is
optimistic that Kodiak will get its fair share of capital works projects this
year, given the informal agreement legislators made last year to largely forego
them:

--(Gary 237 sec"I've
been talking with ... what may happen in the end.")

Stevens says
there are a lot of people associated with school districts in Juneau this week
seeking funding, but he says they shouldn't worry, as the legislature has
already committed to forward-fund education:

--(Gary 326 sec"We
are going to be able ... they'll be getting those funds.")

House
Speaker Mike Chenault (shen-alt) of Nikiski has floated the idea of an advisory
vote of the people to look into funding an in-state gas pipeline with money
from the Alaska Permanent Fund. Stevens says that's exactly what it would take
before the legislature ever touched the state's "rainy day savings account":